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Clarke fine won't stop Aussies sledging

Ben Horne

Michael Clarke concedes his aggressive antics were "regrettable", but his side are unlikely to defuse a plan of mental disintegration endorsed by coach Darren Lehmann.

Clarke was fined 20 per cent of his match fee by the International Cricket Council after he was captured on a stump microphone telling England rival James Anderson to "get ready for a broken f***ing arm", in an electric climax to the first Test.

Clarke accepted the sanction on Monday morning, and Cricket Australia chief James Sutherland said he spoke with the skipper and the pair agreed the incident was regrettable.

"Whilst on-field banter and defence of a teammate is as old as the game itself, there can be a fine line between gamesmanship and a Code of Conduct breach," Sutherland said.

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"All players have a responsibility to manage their emotions even in the most highly charged situations."

Lehmann said he wanted his players to "be aggressive, without crossing the line", and Australia are giving no indication they'll tone down their sledging of England ahead of the second Ashes Test on December 5.

The ICC has been accused of double standards by holding Clarke accountable because his sledge was broadcast on the Nine network, when numerous verbal stoushes throughout the match went unpunished.

Australia sledged England in the last series, despite going down 3-0 and it was Lehmann himself who inflamed the ongoing verbal war between the two sides when he called Stuart Broad a "cheat".

Lehmann was charged by the ICC as Clarke was, and David Warner has even admitted things might have gone too far at the Gabba after he was brandished "disrespectful" by England for calling Jonathan Trott "weak" in a press conference.

But Australia are unlikely to back down from a return to the days, when Steve Waugh was in charge, when players would get in the face of their under-siege opponents.

"I like them playing hard cricket. I like our boys being aggressive without crossing the line," said Lehmann when asked if he encouraged the verbals.

"It will be always hard-fought between Australia and England. It certainly was in England. And has been over the years. If (someone) crosses the line the ICC will deal with it."

Warner said his verbal tirade was no accident.

"I made those comments for a reason," he said on Monday.

Both camps have stuck to the line of what happens on the field stays on the field, but former England player and commentator David Lloyd described Warner's on-field sledging in particular as "nasty, horrible stuff."

Australian Cricketers' Association boss Paul Marsh said he was disappointed Clarke was being sanctioned because broadcasters had failed in their duty to filter what comes through on the stump microphone.

"Michael has unfortunately been found guilty here based on something the public should never have heard," Marsh said.

"I don't want to limit this to Channel Nine ... but swearing happens on the field and it's disappointing there's been another example of it coming into a broadcast when undertakings have been given that it won't happen.

"I think some leniency could have been shown (by the ICC). The viewers hearing that is out of Michael's control and it's out of the ICC's control."

Nine's head of sport Steve Crawley apologised for the error.

"It's obviously a very rare and isolated error on our part, and we'll do our best to ensure it never happens again," Crawley said.

Nine commentator and Test great Ian Healy said umpires needed to play a more active role in keeping a lid on things on the field.